Kurtley Beale to quit Waratahs for stint in France

Michael Hooper is the only remaining survivor of the Waratahs' title-winning team of 2014 after Kurtley Beale confirmed he would depart NSW at the end of the season for a two-year stint with French club Racing 92.

Beale, who has played 162 Super Rugby matches and 92 Tests, had been linked with a move to France for some time and on Tuesday the Top 14 side confirmed the signature of one of Australian rugby’s greatest servants.

Kurtley Beale has signed a deal with French club Racing 92. Credit:Nick Moir

When Beale left the Waratahs in 2016 to play for English side Wasps, it was always anticipated he would be back in a sky blue jersey one day. But, at 31, and with little more to achieve in Australia, this season will likely be Beale’s last on home soil.

A veteran of three World Cups, Beale is eligible to be selected for the Wallabies due to the fact he has played more than the 60 Tests required for overseas-based players.

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However, he is no certainty to be picked, with new Wallabies coach Dave Rennie and his assistants leaving Beale out of a recent "players of national interest" squad that featured just three Waratahs representatives.

Kurtley Beale and the Waratahs made a disappointing start to the season.Credit:Getty

Beale’s departure means Hooper is now the only remaining Waratahs player from the team that beat the Crusaders in the 2014 decider at ANZ Stadium in front of 61,800 fans.

Beale will play out the rest of the season with the Waratahs in an Australian domestic competition organisers hope can begin on July 4.

His form this year has been below par at times and he admitted as much before the Super Rugby season was put on pause a couple of months ago. There is no doubt at his best, Beale can light up any rugby field, but his best performances have been few and far between of late.

He will run out in the Top 14 alongside fellow Australian Luke Jones, who will leave the Melbourne Rebels after this season.

“We’ve tried to mix youth and experience in positions where we haven’t managed to pull through from our academy,” said Racing 92 director, Yannick Nyanga. “We have two premium signings who will bring some experience and their ability.”

Forwards Jed Holloway and Jack Dempsey were in the 2014 Waratahs squad and are still around but did not play that season. Israel Folau, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Bernard Foley, Nick Phipps, Sekope Kepu and Tolu Latu all wore a sky blue jersey for the Waratahs last season and played in Michael Cheika's title-winning side, but have now gone their separate ways.

Hooper remains but without the captaincy any more. It wasn’t long ago he was the new kid on the block and must find it somewhat strange to see so many of his mates move on in such a short space of time.

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New Waratahs captain Rob Simmons, who was there in 2011 with Beale at the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, described his departure as “huge news” for the club.

“We’re going to miss him,” Simmons said. “A player like that has got great experience and he’s done a lot for this club. He is the [equal] most capped Waratah in history, so to lose someone like that is huge.

“I suppose this next little bit in this competition, whatever does get off the ground, it will be a good chance for him to really send us off.”